Nintendo Puzzled Over Other M's Poor Performance

[Rect Pola]

Let's see.
- The strickly sideways control not only had the occasional issue with 3D, but forced a truly awkward missile mode.
- Only one option for control:
You say "universal and efficent" (only need to design one scheme)
I say "arrogant" (your design was flawed and we couldn't do a thing about it)
- The voice acting; just look at Yahtzee's review. I'm glad you went that way (people were starting to talk) but give the woman some life.
- Fleshing out a character we ALL already have preconcieved notions of? Did nobody see the mine field this would be?

 

[toastmastah_extravaganzah]

This game shows us Samus is just a regular girl inside of her Chozo power suit.

(snip)

A lot of people hate the characterization. I didn't. Go back to Gears of War.

You know, there are, or at the very least there should be, a way to avoid Gears of War's machisimo *without* making Samus into a Stepford Housewife.

M:OM does not make Samus into a character, they reinvent her as a Yamato Nadeshiko archetype, putting in all the traits that *they* find appealing in women: Submissiveness, shyness, motherhood, obeying male authority to the point of ridiculousness. I'm not saying that these are necessarily evil traits that shouldn't be present in female characters, EDIT:Motherhood has been a part of Samus' character for years, but when you bring all of those at the same time, the result is not a personality, but idealised womanhood, put high up on a pedestal to be worshipped as an otherworldly angel.

TL;DR: M:OM lets Samus be fully defined by her gender to the point where it forces out any possibility of individuality.

 

[10BIT]

A lot of people hate the characterization. I didn't.

So you like your women continuously beaten and pining for more [http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/blog/gaming/metroid-other-m-the-elephant/article.html]? I'm sorry but if you honestly liked the characterisation, you are a monster and I make sure I avoid *checks GoldenShadow's profile* Austen Texus. *Sigh* Should have guessed it. Nine times out of ten, whenever I hear an American with backwards views on women, they're from that area.

Only insecure juveniles would see the Ridley scene and be embarrassed.

Or how about those that have been fighting Ridley with Samus since the beginning? For her to suddenly break down into tears, endangering not only her life but the lives of those around her, for no reason whatsoever, is very jarring and annoying.

 

[BrunDeign]

I haven't played Other M yet so I won't judge it. However I never liked the idea of giving Metroid to anyone outside Nintendo besides Retro (Metroid Prime 3).

Also what's the deal with people saying things about Samus freaking out or being a wuss?

I'm hearing things about Samus freaking out when coming into contact with Ridley and that makes complete sense to me.

That sounds very similar to something along the lines of PTSD. Ridley a) Killed her parents and friends (when she was what 10?), b)burned her home to the ground, and c) has tried to kill her at every meeting since. Also he seems to have this knack for never dying. I'm not saying that to try and be funny. The space pirates always have some method for bringing him back. Oh and d) he is a giant dinosaur with many rows of sharp teeth, barbed tail, and wings. Yeah I'd freak out no matter how many times you see him. I mean think about it. You'll freak out when coming face to face with a great white shark (which would be a helluva lot less scary than a real life Ridley) no matter how many times you've seen one that close, even if every time you meet that SAME SHARK WITH THE SCAR ABOVE THE EYE THAT HAS A KNACK FOR TRACKING YOU EVERYWHERE (like how Ridley has a knack to always be where Samus is) you manage to kill it. Imagine that shark coming back the next time your in the ocean, despite you obviously killing it the first time, except this time it is a ROBO SHARK WITH FREAKING LASER BEAMS. That may sound like an exaggeration but in real life you'd all be crapping your pants. That's basically what Samus goes through with Ridley except, you know, WORSE. And even though she freaks out she still gets over it enough to fight him again (I would think but I haven't played Other M so I don't know). Unless I had the things she had (Space suit, laser arm cannon, heat-seeking missiles, GIGANTIC balls) I would probably freeze up out of fear or, at best, try to frantically swim away. And I bet all of you would do the same (Robo shark or not).

 

[Monsterfurby]

Now, I have never been a fan of the Metroid series, nor will I ever be. Shooter/Jump n Run - combinations just aren't my cup of tea.

However, it seems that many people here are enjoying the "dude, the plot was so bad, they made Samus into a crybaby, waaah!" bandwagon way too much. Yes, it appears that this is pretty much how it was publicly received. However, just judging from the responses in this thread, as an outside party, I would say that those arguing that Samus' character has, in fact, not been altered but only emphasized along the originally intended lines, are the only ones to provide somewhat solid evidence and a foundation to their argument.

Even though there might be control and game design issues, as well as maybe a story that is not told all too well (or so it appears), at least the thing about Samus' character seems to be blown way out of proportion. Get a grip, people!

 

[Eatbrainz]

I didn't like Samus in that one. She went all....."girly". Ugh.
Where was the badass that I've come to love?

She died a long, long time ago. Just like Sonic.

 

[WaderiAAA]

Hard to say why it failed really. Sure, the game was crap, but most people don't discover that until after they have bought it themselves. I think sales are more related to how good people thought it would be than how good it was, so being a bad game can't be the whole explanation.

Well, if you look at the marketing, then it seemed pretty clear that it was made for the fans rather than the mainstream, and many of the fans would be turned off by it not being in first person. Also, that it was supposed to be so story based could alienate someone.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Exactly. They should of used Jennifer Hale again, yet I can only assume they didn't to cut even more costs from the game.

THANK YOU.

God, I was worried that I was the only person who was upset by this travesty. If they had Jennifer Hale voice Aran, MAYBE the game would have been bearable. MAYBE. I can understand the cost-cutting thing, but dear God, who could possibly have thought that the talentless hack they chose should play anything more than a bit-part NPC?

/end Jennifer Hale-nerdrage

 

[Electrogecko]

The Wii is the reason that I have not bought it. You're telling me I have to change my grip on the controller every time I want to shoot something? Yeah, no.

The switch is instantaneous for anybody who has any experience with a Wii remote. The game also slows down for a few moments during the transition to help you get your bearings and keeps your character's orientation constant. It was an incredibly good idea that was implemented perfectly. Neither me, nor any of the people I've talked to (that actually PLAYED it) had any trouble with this aspect of the game.

Is this really that hard to figure out? Other M did poorly because it was a shitty game! I don't think I need to embellish on that, we've been all around the mulberry bush on that one.

Get the hell out of here. (seriously, what the hell was that?) The game wasn't shitty- it was exceptional. For fans of the series, it was a letdown mainly for it's linearity and the cutscenes. It may have been one of the worst games in the series (unless you're looking for an action-combat game) and one of the worst 1st party games in the last 5 years, but it was still an excellent game that was unfairly judged (by people like you who've never played it and talk trash about it) because it had the Metroid name to live up to. The game was a much better single player experience than Halo ever was. It had several new and inventive ideas. Some of them worked, some of them didn't, but all of them deserved to be tried. Besides, we're trying to figure out why upwards of 500,000 people didn't buy the game, and I seriously doubt that many people had their decision changed by stuff on the internet.
If the game had been a new IP, nobody would've thought poorly of it....unless they're stupid.

 

[GoldenShadow]

A lot of people hate the characterization. I didn't.

So you like your women continuously beaten and pining for more [http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/blog/gaming/metroid-other-m-the-elephant/article.html]? I'm sorry but if you honestly liked the characterisation, you are a monster and I make sure I avoid *checks GoldenShadow's profile* Austen Texus. *Sigh* Should have guessed it. Nine times out of ten, whenever I hear an American with backwards views on women, they're from that area.

Only insecure juveniles would see the Ridley scene and be embarrassed.

Or how about those that have been fighting Ridley with Samus since the beginning? For her to suddenly break down into tears, endangering not only her life but the lives of those around her, for no reason whatsoever, is very jarring and annoying.

The stereotypical Texan cowboy would probably not be a Metroid Fan. But also this area is a rich cultural melting pot. You probably have a picture of me in your mind and you don't even know what race, ethnic group or age I am. All based on my profile's location. Good job.

The arguement that Samus has been fighting Ridley previously and wasn't affected has no punch. Just read into them closer.

In Metroid (and Zero Mission) Samus infiltrated Zebes with the Intent to destroy Ridley from the beginning. He was no surprise. She was mentally prepared to face him.

In Prime, she stumbled upon the ressurected Ridley on the space station, the emotional impact causes her to lose concentration and a mere explosion causes her suit to malfunction and lose her upgrades. If She hadn't seen Ridley there, that explosion wouldn't have devastated her like that. Once Samus has regained her composure she proceeds to kick ass.

In Super Metroid Samus encounters Ridley on Ceres station. She is unprepared and is unable to prevent the theft of the larval metroid. Once Samus has regained her composure she proceeds to kick ass.

In Other M, Samus encounters Ridley and because she is mentally unprepared, she freaks out for a minute. Her inaction managed to almost get Anthony killed. Once Samus has regained her composure she proceeds to kick ass.

The only difference in Other M is the FMV cutscene to show us great detail which a lot of people can't handle for being too insecure themselves.

 

[Phuctifyno]

However, it seems that many people here are enjoying the "dude, the plot was so bad, they made Samus into a crybaby, waaah!" bandwagon way too much.

Not a bandwagon when it's true.

I'm hearing things about Samus freaking out when coming into contact with Ridley and that makes complete sense to me.

Even though she's defeated him everytime they've met before? Oh this time might be different cuz.... TOKEN, NOOOOO!!!!


It's simple, Nintendo learns that malodrama sells, they try malodrama... on Metroid. Nobody who's ever enjoyed a Metroid game has thought to themselves "I wonder what Samus is feeling right now, I'd really like to know what her relationships are like; probably sad, I bet she's real sad, protagonists aren't interesting unless they're sad - oh, and I wish someone would tell me where to go cuz I'm a fucking moron". Supply where there is no demand. Move on.

 

[BrunDeign]

However, it seems that many people here are enjoying the "dude, the plot was so bad, they made Samus into a crybaby, waaah!" bandwagon way too much.

Not a bandwagon when it's true.

I'm hearing things about Samus freaking out when coming into contact with Ridley and that makes complete sense to me.

Even though she's defeated him everytime they've met before? Oh this time might be different cuz.... TOKEN, NOOOOO!!!!


It's simple, Nintendo learns that malodrama sells, they try malodrama... on Metroid. Nobody who's ever enjoyed a Metroid game has thought to themselves "I wonder what Samus is feeling right now, I'd really like to know what her relationships are like; probably sad, I bet she's real sad, protagonists aren't interesting unless they're sad - oh, and I wish someone would tell me where to go cuz I'm a fucking moron". Supply where there is no demand. Move on.

Did you not read my comments about the robot sharks? That question makes sense in context, trust me.

 

[BrownGaijin]

Nintendo can't figure out why Metroid M is not selling well. In other news, Nintendo does not see why they should invest in another Mother title.

 

[10BIT]

The stereotypical Texan cowboy would probably not be a Metroid Fan. But also this area is a rich cultural melting pot. You probably have a picture of me in your mind and you don't even know what race, ethnic group or age I am. All based on my profile's location. Good job.

I have not built up any image of you in my mind. All I said was that I find your views demening of a particular gender and that they happen to be common views in your area. I'm sorry that many people consider you bigoted before you speak rather than afterwards due to your location that you have to get so defencive about it. I was going to say I'll stay away from that place even if it was somewhere completely different, but because it was Austen, I had to make some comment about the coherance between your views and the attitudes percieved of the area. And I do hear many bigoted views from that area.

The arguement that Samus has been fighting Ridley previously and wasn't affected has no punch. Just read into them closer.

Snip

Hence why I said "endangering not only her life but the lives of those around her". In each of the previous games, she was shocked for a few seconds, but she still kept her cool and fought back when Ridley lunged at her, endangering no one.

In M:OM [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPQ5GDld-5w], she cowers, turns into a little girl, she then stands there doing nothing, switches of her suit, allows Ridley to grab and attack her for a full minute and then attack the guy that was with her before finally going on the counter-attack. Now that's a big change from a few seconds of shock.

 

[Phuctifyno]

Did you not read my comments about the robot sharks? That question makes sense in context, trust me.

The point is: people seem to think that because she used to be a silent character that meant she had no character (which is bogus on it's own) and that any new addition will do. In fact, Samus has been, up to this point, characteristically fearless. It was a clear personality trait that could be shown in gameplay without the aid of dialogue, and just got completely reversed because the writers of MOM aren't very good at storytelling. It's like if Batman just decided he was going to make his costume pink for one movie, and shits himself when the Joker does a little dance. Take a play through Metroid Prime and count the seconds it takes Samus to decide to jump down a seemingly bottomless pit to face the final boss in a quick pre-fight cut scene... I'll save you the time: zero. She's practically running full speed when the cut scene starts. As a player, you're not even sure if you're ready to face the final boss yet, but she is. It's actually a constant theme in the Prime series that Samus starts firing before you have a chance to back out. Balls to the walls.

Anyway, Nintendo: Bad game. Forgiven. Try again.

 

[Space Jawa]

You'll freak out when coming face to face with a great white shark (which would be a helluva lot less scary than a real life Ridley) no matter how many times you've seen one that close, even if every time you meet that SAME SHARK WITH THE SCAR ABOVE THE EYE THAT HAS A KNACK FOR TRACKING YOU EVERYWHERE (like how Ridley has a knack to always be where Samus is) you manage to kill it. Imagine that shark coming back the next time your in the ocean, despite you obviously killing it the first time, except this time it is a ROBO SHARK WITH FREAKING LASER BEAMS. That may sound like an exaggeration but in real life you'd all be crapping your pants. That's basically what Samus goes through with Ridley except, you know, WORSE. And even though she freaks out she still gets over it enough to fight him again (I would think but I haven't played Other M so I don't know). Unless I had the things she had (Space suit, laser arm cannon, heat-seeking missiles, GIGANTIC balls) I would probably freeze up out of fear or, at best, try to frantically swim away. And I bet all of you would do the same (Robo shark or not).

Well, unlike you, Samus is armed with those things (Space suit, laser arm cannon, etc).

And no, I don't think I'd freak out "no matter how many times" I went into a situation like that. Sure, the first time I would probably get freaked out, and the second time I could see freaking out if I had reason to believe it's the exact same shark, but I think that if I developed a habit of kicking shark butt, I might be in a position to switch from 'AH! A Shark!' to 'Just die already, alright?' by the third or fourth encounter, especially if I was armed with a super powered scuba suit (space suit), an automatic harpoon gun (laser arm cannon), and a load out of torpedoes (heat-seeking missiles). And that's even before I was given the kind of training and guts that Samus had before MoM came around.

Look at yourself and what you're capable of, then compare yourself to Samus. Or even anyone who might serve as a real-life analogue to Samus. You really think that just because you would have a never-ending freak out habit that the same would apply to everyone else?

Context or not, your comment about "Robot Sharks" is weak at best.

It may have been one of the worst games in the series (unless you're looking for an action-combat game) and one of the worst 1st party games in the last 5 years, but it was still an excellent game that was unfairly judged (by people like you who've never played it and talk trash about it) because it had the Metroid name to live up to.

If the game had been a new IP, nobody would've thought poorly of it....unless they're stupid.

Well, it wasn't a new IP, and thus it's going to be judged in comparison to the rest of the series. How is it unfair to compare it to other games in a series that it shares a name with? The series has a reputation to live up to, and MoM failed to live up to that reputation.

I think that makes the judgements completely fair. Especially as, in your own words, it's arguably "one of the worst games in the series" and "one of the worst 1st party games in the last 5 years".

Personally, those two lines alone gives me the impression you're just being defensive and trying to make excuses.

 

[Spikkle]

Well at least they've acknowledged that they might just possibly have got something a little bit wrong. Which in an official press release like this is likely all we'll ever get, even if everyone at Team Nintendja secretly thinks that they totally screwed it up. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NiceJobBreakingItHero]

It does all seem a bit like a desperate plea of "Come on guise, our game 'aint so bad reaaally! I bet you'll like it if you ignore all those totally irrelevant voices of people saying that they didn't buuy the game because we pulled a 4KIDS on the characterisation. Can I putcha down for 50 copies?"

 

[Mysnomer]

Obviously, Sakamoto hasn't held true to his promise to read message boards and such, otherwise they'd know exactly why it failed "isn't doing as well as expected."

 

[Something Amyss]

Personally..I loved it. It's just that you can't please all fans. Fans are fans after all.

Apparently, you can't please MOST of the fans. Which is odd, since fans are fans, after all.